Darth Bane
Darth Bane, born under the name of Dessel, was the Sith'ari and the Dark Lord of the Sith responsible for creating the Rule of Two. Born in1026 BBY, he was raised as a poor miner on the Outer Rim planetApatros. After killing a Galactic Republic ensign in a fight in 1003 BBY, Dessel was in danger of being arrested and imprisoned by the Republic. With the help of his friend Groshik, he escaped off-world to join the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness. Initially serving as a foot soldierin the Gloom Walkers unit, he was recognized as a Force-sensitive, and taken to the Sith Academy on Korriban. Bane, as he had been christened, quickly became one of the best students at the Academy before he lost his faith in the dark side of the Force. Though Bane was able to regain his confidence in the dark side, he lost his trust in the Brotherhood of Darkness, believing it to be a flawed organization whose leader, Skere Kaan, was a coward and a fool. Deserting the order, he went to the planet Lehon and studied the holocron of DarthRevan, and, armed with new knowledge, helped destroy the Brotherhood, allowing him to create his own Sith Order. He then instituted a Rule of Two, which stated that there could be only two Sith to avoid the infighting that had plagued the Sith for millennia. He also took both the title of Darth and an apprentice named Darth Zannah. In 990 BBY, ten years after the destruction of the Brotherhood, Bane sought to learn how to create a holocron, through which he would pass down his knowledge to future Sith Lords. The Sith journeyed to the Deep Core world of Tython to locate the Sith holocron of the ancient Dark Lord Belia Darzu. However, while Bane was on Tython, the Jedi Order learned of his existence, and sent a group of Jedi to kill him and his apprentice. Once the Jedi arrived, they confronted the two Sith in Darzu's fortress. Though outnumbered, the Sith were able to defeat the Jedi; however, Bane was grievously injured. Zannah took him to Ambria, where she convinced the healer Caleb to help them. Caleb notified the Jedi Council, only to have Zannah use her powersto drive Caleb's assistant Darovit insane. Zannah killed Caleb, thenhid herself and Bane. When the Jedi arrived, they killed Darovit, believing him to be the Sith Lord. Thus, the Sith were believed destroyed. A decade later, Bane began to worry that his apprentice was too weak to overthrow him and assume the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, as was necessary under the Rule of Two. He began to research the secrets to prolonging his life by transferring his essence to another body, and traveled to Prakith, where he claimed the holocron of the ancient Darth Andeddu. After returning from Prakith, Bane was ambushed by a team of assassins hired by Caleb's daughter, Serra, and was captured. Taken to Doan, Bane was imprisoned and interrogated, only to covertly gain his freedom soon afterward. Encountering Zannah on Doan, Bane dueled his apprentice, who sought to become the new Dark Lord. : "Hurst always said you were no good. He knew there was something wrong with you…Bane." : ―Gerd The Human male who would become Darth Bane was born as Dessel on the Outer Rim planet Apatros in 1026 BBY to an abusive miner named Hurst. Des, as he was nicknamed, was often bullied by his father and the other miners. Hurst blamed his son for the death of his wife, who had perished during childbirth. Hurst also took to blaming Dessel for his own miserable life on Apatros, and considered his son to be the bane of his existence—so much so that he took to calling him "bane" frequently. In 1010 BBY, at the age of sixteen, Dessel began to work in the cortosis mines of Apatros under the direction of the Outer Rim Oreworks Company. He learned to fend for himself, ignoring the threats and insults hurled at him by his father and the other miners, and grew into a muscular young man as he worked deep in the cortosis mines. Unknown to anyone, Dessel was Force-sensitive, and he occasionally felt the call of the Force's dark side. One day, when Dessel was eighteen, a drunk Hurst berated him until Dessel stood up to his father and challenged him to a fight. Irate, Hurst beat him until his ribs cracked, although Dessel withstood the pain without sound. That night, Dessel, filled with hate, envisioned his father dying by picturing a giant hand squeezing hisheart. The next morning, Hurst was dead. Unknown to Dessel, he had used the Force to kill his father. After Hurst's death, his friends tried to continue with their harassment of Dessel, but the young miner now had the confidence to stand up for himself, and proceeded to best many of them in fights until they learned to leave him alone. On the fifth anniversary of Hurst's death, a man named Gerd—who had been friends with Hurst—decided that he would put Dessel in his place. In a drunken stupor, Gerd attacked Dessel and attempted to gouge out one of his eyes. With a premonition granted by the dark side of the Force, Dessel severed Gerd's thumb with his teeth